Barefoot has impacted the lives of over 1,800 kids since its beginning 10 years ago.  With the creation of Barefoot Club, as well as the future plans for the camp property, Barefoot will have even more opportunities to reach youth in the name of Jesus Christ.  We ask that you join us and several other Barefoot supporters as we raise funds to help make some of Barefoot's future goals a reality.

On Saturday, April 24, 2010, we will be running the Country Music Marathon/Half Marathon.  From now until the race, we will be raising money while building friendships by training together.  Throughout the months of training, "Run Barefoot" will provide runners of all calibers- both the experienced and the inexperienced- with expert coaching, leadership, support and accountability.

The first meeting for Run Barefoot took place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, 2009 at First Presbyterian Church's Enrichment Center in Nashville.  At this meeting, runners were provided with training schedules, group run dates, special event dates, how to raise funds, rewards for meeting fundraising goals, and much more.  To enroll or for more information about Run Barefoot, please contact Chan Sheppard at 615.596.4386 or cgsheppard@prestontaylerministries.org.

If you'd like to participate in Run Barefoot, but don't want to run, we also need volunteers to hand out water, help plan Run Barefoot events, and especially to cheer runners on.  If you'd like to volunteer in one or more of these areas, please contact Lauren Carter at 615.599.9683 or lauren@barefootrepublic.org.

*Support a Run Barefoot participant by securely donating online here!*

See our latest photos from our fall 2009 club meetings on facebook.  Click here for October and click here for November.

We are excited to announce the hire of 2 new part-time employees.  Leslie Davidson will be joining our staff as our Development Director.  She previously worked at the Chatanooga Zoo in a similar capacity.  In addition, Kim Barnes will be joining our staff as our Marketing & Communications Director.  Kim was previously employed by the Nashville Symphony.  We are so thankful and encouraged by the amazing gifts that they bring to the ministry.  And, these positions were only made possible through amazing savings that our organization has realized through the transition to our permanent facility.

We are thrilled to have a past camper, counselor, and now intern on staff with Barefoot this season.  In 2003, Lauren Duarte was first introduced to Barefoot's ministry as a camper during the second year of its existence.  She witnessed first hand youth from all backgrounds uniting under the love of Christ.  After graduating highschool, she made the decision to serve as a junior high counselor.  She returned for another summer as a senior high counselor after her sophomore year in college .  Lauren enjoys helping others and listening to everyone's unique story that shapes their life.  She is looking forward to getting married in April 2010 and will be attending MTSU in the fall as a Junior majoring in Social Work and minoring in Family Studies. 

We have been dreaming, praying and planning towards this new phase of our ministry for a long time, and we truly believe it will take the mission of "unity in diversity" to a whole new level as we worship and fellowship together all year round! Our first meeting took place Oct. 7th, 6:30-8pm at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville. The following meetings are Nov. 4th, Feb. 3th, March 3th, April 7th, & a Winter Retreat Jan. 8-9th. Plan now to join us!

We are excited to have Kristin Childress as Barefoot's fall semester intern.  Kristin is a college student at Belmont University majoring in Sociology.  She has a passion for learning about different cultures and what makes an individual who they are.  She faithfully volunteered to serve as a camp counselor with Barefoot last summer.  She will focus on researching effective models of diversity, demographic trends nationally and locally, and will help develop a curriculum to address and break down class and race.

Tommy Rhodes talks with Debbie Allen on the radio show "On The Home Stretch." Listen to the interview by clicking here.

The purpose of the YAB is to help support the mission of Barefoot Republic Camp and to participate as partners in accomplishing its goals. The board is made up of youth representatives throughout the Nashville area who have attended Barefoot Republic Camp and displayed leadership skills and a commitment to service.

We are excited to be working with such a great group of kids!